Charles Woodson back on field with Raiders

ALAMEDA -- The jersey was solid black, unadorned with a uniform number. But the movements were unmistakably those of Charles Woodson, wearing Raiders colors on the practice field Tuesday for the first time since 2005.

Woodson will work on getting back the No. 24 he wore for eight years as a Raider. Teammate Tracy Porter had it on while he sat out practice with a calf injury.

"We'll try and get that worked out, but right now, I'm just 'blank man,' " Woodson said. "It wasn't waiting for me at my locker, so I'll have to negotiate that for sure."

In the meantime, defensive coordinator Jason Tarver worked Woodson in as a safety, at times with Tyvon Branch, other times with fellow free agent acquisition Usama Young.

The beauty of having Woodson on the roster is he has played everywhere in the secondary and isn't bound by a position title. Woodson, 36, sees the system as radically different from the straight man-to-man Raiders systems of his youth.

"This defense will give you some variations and give you some opportunities to make some plays, give you some different looks, and not just be in a single high safety look," Woodson said. "Being a guy that I feel has a nose for the football, it'll be a lot of fun to go out there and be a part of this defense and try to make it click."

Woodson's teammates were thrilled to have one of the NFL's most decorated and respected players become a part of the effort return the Raiders to prominence.

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Middle linebacker Nick Roach, who played for the Chicago Bears against Woodson and the Green Bay Packers in the NFC North, thinks Woodson's locker room influence will be considerable as well as his skill on the field.

"He's a living legend that's still playing, and playing at a high level," Roach said.

Quarterback Matt Flynn was the scout team quarterback behind Packers star Aaron Rodgers, going against Woodson in practice every day.

"He's extremely smart," Flynn said. "Most of the time, he knows the offensive concept better than the offense does. He's seen everything there is to see when it comes to route concepts and what people try to attack him with."

As for when Woodson will get back his old Raiders number -- he wore 21 with the Packers -- Young said talks at this point are "hush-hush" and added "Tracy's been hearing from everybody telling him, 'You've got to give Woodson that 24,' " Young said. "There's going to be some numbers crunched in that locker room, probably."

The Raiders were sluggish and ineffective after four days off, and coach Dennis Allen said it has to get better. No. 3 quarterback Tyler Wilson was intercepted in the red zone by safety Shelton Johnson and linebacker Billy Boyko, and all three quarterbacks struggled with accuracy and timing.

"I don't think any of us are pleased with how we did today," Flynn said. "We made some strides last week, but today was a little unacceptable."

Kicker Sebastian Janikowski was not at Tuesday's practice session. Cornerbacks Porter (calf) and Coye Francies (illness) were present but sat it out, as did linebacker Miles Burris (knee).